Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

John 5:17-30

Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”

Opening Prayer: Lord, open my mind and heart to hear your words of truth. Please give me the grace to hear and obey, to listen and act in everything according to your will.

Encountering Christ:

1. Father and Son: Jesus tells us in this Gospel that he cannot do anything on his own. He always keeps his Father as the point of reference for all that he does. His deepest desire is to please God in everything. Christ’s life is not self-referential but reflects the desires of the Father. Just as a son looks to his dad to learn how to live life, asking the questions of “why” and “how,” so Christ looked to his Father before acting. We are called to imitate Christ’s docility and love of the Father by living for Christ above all things. “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17).

    

2. How to Get Ahead: We live in a world where, in order to get ahead, we are encouraged to put ourselves out there, to make a name for ourselves, to get noticed—even to the point of becoming someone we’re not on social media. Christ wants to be known, not for his own personal aggrandizement, but so to honor his Father. The ultimate sacrifice of the cross was for us, yes, but also to give glory to his Father. Do we try to “get ahead” in order to give glory to God?

    

3. All About Love: Christ’s relationship with his Father is not based on submission to the Father. It is a relationship of supernatural, symbiotic love. Their hearts are united in one course of action. It is their love that engenders the Holy Spirit. It is this love that brought about our existence and won our salvation.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for allowing me to reflect on the love that you have with the Father. You have shared with me the confidence and filial trust you share with the Father. Guide me deeper into this relationship, as only you can do. Share with me the intimacy that you have with our Father.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take some time at midday to reconnect with the Father, asking for the grace to do my tasks for his glory.

Father Joshua West is a Legionary of Christ priest serving as chaplain at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

John 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe that rivers of living water flow from within you. You are the source of my interior life, and I thank you for your life that you freely give to me. Lord, grant me the grace to see you as the source of living water, and to be grateful for all that you give me.

Encountering Christ:

1. Oppressive Self-Pity: Jesus visited the pool of Bethesda specifically to seek out the poor and lame, because his heart is magnanimous and seeks to do good. At the pool he discovered a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years, a tough shake even for sturdy souls. Unfortunately, this man seemed to be focused only on himself. When Jesus approached asking, “Do you want to be well?” the man explained, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.” We can sometimes complicate our relationship with Jesus by making excuses, overexplaining, or rationalizing, instead of answering his invitation to become saints by saying simply, “Yes, Lord, I want to do your will,” as life’s circumstances present themselves.

    

2. Desire—Healing: The ill man’s self-pity was coupled with a fearful ingratitude. After Jesus healed him, he was questioned by the Pharisees, and he distanced himself from Jesus. He eventually revealed Jesus’ identity to the Pharisees as the one responsible for making him break the sabbath by carrying his mat. Jesus knew the man’s character. Yet, he saw the man’s desire to be healed, and that desire was enough for Jesus’ magnanimous heart to overflow with healing waters.

    

3. Desire—Holiness: Jesus told the man, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more.” He says the same to us every time we go to Confession. Christ wants a total conversion from us, and the graces of Confession are what we need to sin no more. Jesus, grant us the desire for conversion and holiness!

Conversing with Christ: Lord, you know how I want to draw close to you—draw me in, more and more! Increase in me the fire of desire for holiness that you have already lit, and fan the flame with your love. Amen.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will exercise patience with someone I find difficult. I will listen to them sincerely.

For Further Reflection: Do you ever say an act of contrition outside of the confessional? It’s a good practice. There are many versions available or you can use your own words. Here’s one based on the Gospels:

Father of mercy, like the prodigal son I return to you and say: “I have sinned against you and am no longer worthy to be called your child.”

Christ Jesus, Savior of the world, I pray with the repentant thief to whom you promised Paradise: “Lord, remember me in your kingdom.”

Holy Spirit, fountain of love, I call on you with trust: “Purify my heart, and help me to walk as a child of light.”

Brian Flanagan is a Regnum Christi member from Atlanta, Georgia.